If It's The Last Thing I Do
by Pooki Ze Great
Summary: Chapter 8 up. The Marauders meet. How cute! This is a fic spanning all 7 years of Marauder-schoolage. How terrifying. Sexual favors will be given in return for R&Ring.
1. These Sweet Beginnings

Chapter: INTRODUCTION/? ["These Sweet Beginnings"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter Summary: 'I, Lily Jennifer Evans, will get James Potter back if it's the last thing I do.'  
  
Chapter Warnings: None  
  
Archiving: LiveJournal, The Brat Fae Presents: If It's The Last Thing I Do, The Pit of Voles ... other than that ask first  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Chapter Rating: G  
  
Chapter Pairing(s): None  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at and poked in a semi-bored manner.  
  
A/N: This first chapter is simply written and not too descriptive, because I'm trying to keep a child-like air to it. This chapter is hereby dedicated to sappy love songs you really don't want to like but secretly do and listen to when you're sure no one who'll tease you about it is around.  
  
***  
  
INTRODUCTION  
  
These Sweet Beginnings  
  
A young, chubby girl walked down the street, carefully tiptoe-ing along the edge of the sidewalk and licking up the sugary rivers running down from her ice cream and onto her hands.  
  
The sun shone brightly down, lighting her rosy cheeks and glinting in her frizzy dark red hair as she gazed down at her spotless new black dress shoes and the white lace of her brand new dress socks.  
  
She was still looking at her shoes, brow furrowed in concentration, when the ice cream cone smashed into her face.  
  
She rubbed the biggest globs of chocolate off of her face and looked wildly around, eyes flashing with fear as she stared desperately, looking everywhere to try and see what had made the ice cream fly out of her hand, but there was no one.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a cackle of hysterical laughter and she wheeled around, the white cloth and purple lace of the skirt of her dress flaring as she span on the spot to see an upper body hanging upside down from an apple tree, hazel eyes squeezed tight with laughter and jet black hair even messier than ever as the boy who the upper body belonged to shook with laughter, hanging by his legs from a low-hung branch.  
  
James Thomas Potter.  
  
The bane of her existence.  
  
The face which swam with a menacing grin behind her eyes as she cried herself to sleep at night.  
  
The voice which called her fat, ugly, stupid, and useless.  
  
The reason she believed those things.  
  
She didn't know how, but that ice cream flying into her face was his fault. Bad, weird things always happened to her when James Potter was around. Like the time her dress split apart at the seams as she timidly crept by his 5th birthday party, trying to go unnoticed. Or last year before 1st grade pictures were taken, the morning of picture day her face had turned puke green and it wouldn't go back to normal for a week. But then, one time not so long ago, when she had somehow ended up covered in slime, and James had (as always) been laughing hysterically, instead of her usual hurt, fear, and sadness, she had been angry. Very angry. Very very angry. Then all of a sudden he had been hanging upside down.  
  
She had no idea how that had happened, but she wasn't complaining.  
  
And here she was, 6 and a half years old, with chocolate ice cream all over her best dress, and James had just fallen from the tree, he was laughing so hard.  
  
She clenched her fists and glared angrily at him.  
  
"JAMES POTTER I HATE YOU!" she shrieked, barely managing to hold back a wave of sickened, angry tears and biting her lip so hard she could taste blood - then all of a sudden her mouth was hanging wide open because James had been lifted off the ground and slammed suddenly into the apple tree, sliding slowly down to rest at its base unconsious, a trickle of blood streaming slowly down from his hairline.  
  
She stared blankly at his limp form for a moment before fear struck and she bolted off, short, stubby legs carrying her as fast as they could until she collapsed a good 8 blocks away against a park bench, breathing hard.  
  
She massaged the stitch in her side as the tears finally broke through and flowed freely down her cheeks, shaking with loud hiccoughs and sobs.  
  
Oh, she HATED James Potter, but she was going to be in ever SO MUCH trouble now!!! Her best dress ruined, her dress shoes all scuffed up from running, and a bloody lip, and him unconsious and hurt ... What would her mother say?  
  
She sobbed even harder, the hard wood corner of the bench drilling into her temple, and made a silent vow to herself.  
  
'I, Lily Jennifer Evans, will get James Potter back if it's the last thing I do.' 


	2. The Girl Called Lily Evans

Chapter: 1/? ["The Girl Called Lily Evans"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter Summary: The girl called Lily Evans was no longer chubby.  
  
Chapter Warnings: None.  
  
Archiving: LiveJournal, The Brat Fae Presents: If It's The Last Thing I Do, and The Pit of Voles ... other than that, ask  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Chapter Rating: G  
  
Chapter Pairing(s): None  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at and used to set smurfs on fire (mwahahaha).  
  
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to unexplained itchiness and stupid teenager shows and rad cover songs.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The Girl Called Lily Evans  
  
The girl called Lily Evans was no longer chubby.  
  
Her hair was no longer frizzy.  
  
And she had not seen James Potter in a good 3 years.  
  
It was June 28th, she'd gotten out of the fifth grade a day ago, she was thin, red from the sun, and rather freckly. It was her 11th birthday, and she should have been happy.  
  
But instead she sat alone on her front doorstep, by some strange stroke of fate eating a chocolate ice cream cone again, and was staring dully ahead of her, humming a sad tune to herself in a manner that wasn't entirely conscious.  
  
Yes, Lily was certainly looking different from when she'd first moved to Orangeville, Ontario the summer she'd turned 8.  
  
In large spurts she'd grown to almost her full height at only 5'1, and she'd slimmed down admirably while doing so.  
  
From the dainty feet, toenails gleaming cherry red as they peeked out from her flowered sandals, up her tightly muscled legs, clothed in cutoff jean shorts ending well above her knees, to her freackled midriff peeking from her blue tank top, all the way up to her long, wavy dark red hair which fell in graceful curls over her shoulders and partway down her back, even James Potter wouldn't have recognised her as the girl she used to be had it not been for her still slightly wild and perpetually frightened emerald eyes.  
  
She finished her ice cream and glared sullenly across the lawn at her older sister Petunia, who was chattering animatedly with a few of her many friends, and shooting Lily a disgusting, gloating smirk from her place sitting on the grass.  
  
Of course, Lily was smart enough, nice enough, and most certainly pretty enough to be popular, but strange incidents, like James' misfortunes on those two occasions, had started to happen around Lily more and more often, so she was once again alienated by her peers, hearing hissing whispers of "freak" and "creepy" everywhere she went.  
  
She heard her sister's friends' bubbly, shrieking laughter from across the lawn and looked at them again, to see them all giggling hysterically and looking at her, evil, taunting grins on each of their faces.  
  
Feeling her face heat once more, she stood angrily up and walked into her house, slamming the screen door behind her as she stormed upstairs.  
  
God damn it, she hated small town life.  
  
***  
  
Hours later, Lily lay on her bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling and wondering what fun she might be having if she'd had any friends.  
  
Sighing, she began to sing softly to the empty room.  
  
"Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear m-" she stopped singing and sat up, looking around bemusedly for the source of the soft yet insistent tapping noise her senses had just registered.  
  
The tapping increased in volume, and she realised it was coming from her bedroom window. Confused, she stood and walked to the other side of the room, where she saw a dusty brown owl rapping on the pane with one of its claws.  
  
Now utterly bewildered, Lily unlocked and opened the window, and the owl flew in, making a graceful circle around the room, dropping an envelope on the wide-eyed Lily's upturned face, and swooping silently back into the dark, warm night.  
  
Wondering vaguely if there had been something in her ice cream, Lily shut the window and crossed the room, sitting back on her bed and observing the thick envelope in her hands warily.  
  
It was a deep tan envelope with scarlet ink spelling out the words  
  
"Lily Lorelei Evans  
  
64 Ranchlands Crescent  
  
Orangeville, Ontario"  
  
in a curvy scrawl.  
  
She turned the envelope over and saw that on the back there was more of the scarlet writing, this time saying  
  
"The Canadian Institute of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and The Arts"  
  
Ooookay, now Lily KNEW there must have been something in the ice cream.  
  
"The Arts" she could understand applying to her. She'd been playing the drums since she'd moved to Canada, and seeing her lack of a social life, she'd had quite a bit of time to get good. Though it was kind of strange she'd never heard of such an institute.  
  
Speaking of strange...  
  
"Witchcraft and Wizardry????" she exclaimed aloud to the darkened room.  
  
Suddenly it all clicked.  
  
Someone had thought it would be funny to make her believe she was something special for a moment. Hell, there was probably even a train ticket in there.  
  
Well she wasn't going to take the bait, no siree.  
  
'No one, not even Lily Jennifer Evans,' she thought dully, 'is THAT much of a fool.'  
  
Scowling, she threw the unopened envelope into the wastepaper basket, turned off the light, and threw her covers over her head, tears welling up as she thought this was most certainly her worst birthday ever when suddenly - "CRACK!"  
  
She gasped and tensed, still clutching her covers over her head, as she heard someone walk over to her bed and tap her gently on the shoulder through her blanket.  
  
"Sorry girlie, but I can't let yeh go to sleep jes' yet." 


	3. Whoa

Chapter: 2/? ["Whoa"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter Summary: Standing over [Lily] at the side of her bed was one of the strangest people she'd ever seen.  
  
Chapter Warnings: None  
  
Archiving: LiveJournal, The Brat Fae Presents: If It's The Last Thing I Do, and the Pit of Voles ... other than that, ask.  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Chapter Rating: G  
  
Chapter Pairing(s): None.  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at.  
  
Category: Romance/Humor, with some angst thrown in  
  
A/N: This one's dedicated to the fact that eventually George Bush will leave office. It's also dedicated to those dear, dear fools who still say "We know they have those weapons of mass destruction o'er there in the East, jus' where are they?" Oh, and to my mom, who's tolerated me for over 15 years. Poor woman.  
  
***  
  
CHAPTER 2  
  
Whoa  
  
Trembling, Lily slowly let the sheets be pulled down, uncovering her hair, her forehead, and finally her eyes.  
  
Standing over her at the side of her bed was one of the strangest people she'd ever seen.  
  
Relatively tall for a girl, around 5'11" Lily guessed, a thin woman with multicolored hair, eyelashes tinted lime green, deep purple lipstick, and a highly amused sort of grin plastered crookedly on her face was staring down at her.  
  
"W-Where didjoo come fro - W-Who - How did you get in here?" Lily spluttered, sitting up, pressing herself into the corner and blinking profusely.  
  
"Oi well I came from The 'Tute of course, I apparated, and," the woman said with a bit bigger of a grin, "I'd be Sage Landry, Transfiguration teacher and one of the Muggle-born recruiters for The 'Tute."  
  
She held out a blue-nailed hand, which Lily stared at blankly for a second before blurting out "What's going on???"  
  
The woman called Sage smiled even wider, revealing a large gap in between her two front teeth as her freckled face lit up with glee.  
  
"Sorry, m'new at this, guess I'm gonna 'afta explain things a bit better, hm? Well let's start with your letter then, shall we?"  
  
And with that she took out a long, narrow stick and waved it at the wastepaper basket, after which the discarded envelope zoomed inexplicably into her hand. Taking a look at Lily's awed expression, she gave another toothy grin and opened the envelope with a flourish, taking out a thick piece of deep purple parchment with silver ink bright as an evening star shining from it. She cleared her throat and began to read aloud:  
  
" 'Dear Miss Evans,  
  
" 'We are pleased to inform you of your acceptance into the Canadian Institute Of Witchraft, Wizardry, And The Arts' long name, mos' people'll just call it The 'Tute. 'You will find enclosed a list of items you will need to purchase. Term starts July 30th.  
  
" 'Thank you, and 'ave a pleasant summer,  
  
" 'Pandora and Caedmon Enders, 'eadmistress and Master of the Canadian' blah blah blah," Sage finished boredly. "'ones'ly, you'd think they could put a bit more variety in the ruddy things, if only for my sake." Sage sighed dramatically and then beamed at Lily again. "Any questions?"  
  
Lily stared disbelievingly at Sage, eyes comically wide. Any questions? ANY QUESTIONS? She had more questions right now than she'd ever had before in her life.  
  
What did Sage mean, she'd "apparated?" And was that stick A WAND? And how come Lily was getting into this place anyways? Was she supposed to believe that she was a witch? She supposed she might as well start with the basics.  
  
"Um... what supplies do I need to go to this... place?"  
  
"Oh you know you only really need the basics. Cauldron, potions materials, robes, 'at, wand, parchment, quill, ink, nothing much. Though," she added, thoughtfully looking around the room, "'looks like your family could afford all the bells n' whistles, 'm?"  
  
"I... I... I don't know where to buy things like that," Lily stuttered, reddening suddenly.  
  
"Oh, s'quite alright. We don't normally expect Muggle-borns to know that, now do we? What with you all not really knowin' what y'are and all."  
  
"Yes... um... about that... what am I?"  
  
Sage cocked an eyebrow so high that it disappeared under her mutli-tonal fringe. "Y... Yeh're a witch. Thought you woulda' figured that out by now. An'..." Sage reached into her jacket and pulled out a small plain piece of parchment. "'Parently a drummer, s'well, right?"  
  
Lily nodded mutely.  
  
"Then a'course you'll be furthering your studies in that, too. Pandora's mum, Aislinn, an' her dad Greg, they're the ones't started the 'Tute, so's fairly new, really musical family. 'S'like that bloke Dumbledore's sayin', somewhat about music being a magic beyond all else? 'Mazing man."  
  
"Dumbledore?" Lily repeated faintly.  
  
"'E's the newest 'eadmaster of 'ogwarts. Just got sworn in a week ago. But people've been watchin' 'im for a long time, a long time indeed. Brilliant, 'e is. Oh, 'jes you see, the 'Tute's based a lot o' their ways on 'ogwarts, best magic school in the world, mos' say. 'Cludin' Pandora and Caedmon. By the way, where's yer accent from?"  
  
Lily had to clear her throat a couple times before her response was audible.  
  
"Brighton. I lived in Brighton for the first 8 years of my life. What about yours?" she enquired, as she'd been trying to place the origin of the strange way Sage spoke since her first sentence.  
  
With a develish smile Sage replied, in a completely Canadian accent. "I fake it," she said. "I'll come to pick you up tomorrow at 11 o'clock. Pleasant dreams, Miss Evans." And then with another loud "CRACK" she was gone.  
  
Lily slowly lay back down and stared at the ceiling for a good ten minutes before saying softly "... whoa." 


	4. The Unlikely Pair

Chapter: 3/? ["The Unlikely Pair"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter Summary: Now, through all this strangeness you might wonder whatever happened to that dear hazel-eyed terror we call James Potter.  
  
Chapter Warnings: None  
  
Archiving: LiveJournal, The Brat Fae Presents: If It's The Last Thing I Do, and The Pit of Voles ... other than that, ask.  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Chapter Rating: G  
  
Chapter Pairing(s): None  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at.  
  
A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Elizabeth Bathory, Johnny Depp, and Kurt Wagner in each and every of his deplorably desirable incarnations.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The Unlikely Pair  
  
Now, through all this strangeness you might wonder whatever happened to that dear hazel-eyed terror we call James Potter.  
  
As a matter of fact, he was currently snickering, hidden in the middle of the forest, trying not to laugh too loudly as his parents called for him in the slowly darkening evening.  
  
11-year-old James didn't look so different from 6-year-old James. Sure, he'd grown a couple feet, but he was still of slightly less than average height, skinny, with a long straight nose, hazel eyes, and constantly looking as though he'd just recently survived a tornado, a look he had learned to help by running his hands constantly through his hair.  
  
And of course, it went without saying that he had hardly matured at all.  
  
James snickered as he wondered what his parents were thinking right then. Suddenly, he stopped, abruptly realising he could no longer hear their voices. Come to think of it, he hadn't heard either of them call out for a good five minutes.  
  
He stood up and hesitantly called out "M-Mum? Dad?"  
  
When no answer came he whimpered quietly. It was getting darker and he had no idea how to get back to his family's cabin.  
  
He looked around frantically, trying to remember from which way he'd come, and tears were welling up in his eyes when he heard a branch snap behind him.  
  
He whirled around, sure he was about to be devoured by a chimaera or something equally terrifying, but finding only a scowling boy who couldn't have been more than 15.  
  
He took a tentative step forward and got a better look at the boy.  
  
He was around 5'5, a good five inches taller than James, and his hair, the same inky black as James's, fell with an unintentional loveliness halfway into crystalline blue eyes.  
  
He had a long, thin body, like that of a dancer, all through which James could see tightly formed muscles rippling just beneath skin's surface.  
  
At first James had thought this an infinitely better predicament than being alone with a full-grown chimaera, but going by the slightly menacing glint in the boy's eyes, he suddenly wasn't so sure.  
  
"Who're you," the boy shot in a surprisingly high voice.  
  
"James Potter," James quickly replied, taking a few cautious steps towards the boy.  
  
The boy nodded thoughtfully and watched every one of James' movements, both major and seemingly inconsequential, with an attentive gaze of hawklike proportions.  
  
After a sufficient period of silence had passed, James decided to make a valiant effort to continue the conversation.  
  
"So," he spoke quietly and carefully, picking out his words (for once) before he said them so as not to say the wrong thing. "I told you my name, what's yours?"  
  
"Sirius," the boy responded quickly, with a stubborn finality.  
  
James blinked. "Sirius who?"  
  
The boy hesitated a second, then muttered his respose. "Black. M'Sirius ... Black." The boy hissed the second word as if it were some most loathsome curse, and James could certainly understand why.  
  
Unlike Lily, James had grown up knowing very well what Apparating, Hogwarts, wands and Wizardry were, because James and his family were all witches and wizards.  
  
Well, not all of his family, but his parents were, and his parents' parents, and their parents as well. But the Potter family had never been obsessed with pureblood mania, and James had many cousins of Muggle heritage.  
  
Coming from a wizarding family, James knew about certain other wizarding families, one of which was the notorious Black family.  
  
Known for strange practices with house elves, a taste for the Dark arts, and a near-fanatical obsession with blood purity, the Blacks weren't ... the most well-liked wizarding family around, to put it lightly.  
  
Suddenly James realised he'd been silent for a good minute and the Black boy was watching him warily, with something strange in his eyes - fear?  
  
"So," James said softly, eager to get the subject off of Sirius' family. "How old are you?"  
  
"M'turning eleven next month," he mumbled, staring intently at his feet.  
  
James stared. "Hones'ly?"  
  
The boy looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah ... why?"  
  
"Sorry," James shook his head. "You just look older, like 15 or something." He grinned apologetically.  
  
The other boy returned the favor, beaming so that his eyes lit up and he looked almost his age, the child shining through. "S'okay, I get that a lot." He sighed. "I reckon you'd look older, too, if you had to live in the 'Noble and Oh-So-Bloody-Ancient House Of Black,'" his face looked older again, contorted in a self-disgusted grimace as he stared angrily into a nearby bush. James was rather surprised it didn't burst right into flame when the boy added, as a rueful sort of afterthought, "Toujours Ruddy Pur."  
  
James grinned hesitantly as the boy cast a wary glance at him.  
  
"Sirius Black," he said, smile growing larger by the syllable. "I think you and I are going to get along very well." 


	5. A Strange Day Part 1

If It's The Last Thing I Do  
  
(Well, It's True That We Love Each Other)  
  
*!*  
  
Chapter: 4/? ["A Strange Day Part 1"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Beta: N/A  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Illustrations: N/A  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: [For a full story summary, see earlier chapters] Lily meets her first fellow witches. "The girl sighed deeply, closed her eyes, and then opened them to shoot Lily a sneer and the most disdainful of looks. "I'm Magaran Landry," she hissed. "And unlike you, I'm not an ickle Firstey, I'm just here to help out my sister," she nodded at Sage, who was chatting animatedly to the bus driver, who was looking as though he'd quite rather saw off his ear than listen to her. "So don't talk to me, you filthy little creature.""  
  
Warnings: Over the course of this story there will be Het, Slash, Rape, Violence, Language, and probably other offending stuff I don't consider offending but someone else does. Bleh.  
  
Archiving: Ask first  
  
Disclaimers: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun. ALSO! While "Magaran Landry" shares a first name with Jess, and is similar in appearance to her and Magaran Gris, she ISN'T her, and I only named her Magaran cos it made me laugh when I realised I had subconsciously based her appearance on Jess when I had her named Jessica. But now she is Magaran. w00t.  
  
Rating: PG-13, cos there's a bit of swearing. Mer.  
  
Pairing(s): Throughout the course of this fic there will be the following pairings [Lily/James, Remus/Sirius, Sirius/OC, Peter/OC, OC/OC, Severus/OC (and the list goes on ...)]  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at.  
  
Category: Romance/Humor, with some angst thrown in  
  
A/N: Thank you to my (few) reviewers. PLEASE review if you read this. Please. It makes me smile. Do a good deed and make me smile, yo. Hey! The people who review the next chapter'll get cred. I've been lazy about crediting reviewers the past couple of chapters. Stupid me. But I will again. w00t. This chapter is dedicated to wonderful TOVE, who ahs left me for a couple weeks. *sniff* And you know what I just realised? I took a month to write this chapter. I started it back on August 6th. Crap. Okay. Read on.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
A Strange Day, Part 1  
  
Sunlight warmed Lily Evans' face, from her cupid's bow lips, to her freckled nose, and onto the pale eyelashes which were fluttering open as she awoke.  
  
Her mind, still choked and clouded with sleep, tried to recall why she'd set her alarm, which was screeching shrilly, when it was summer holidays.  
  
Suddenly, the previous night's happenings rushed back to her in a tidal wave of memory and she sat bolt upright, looking around her room wildly as though expecting Sage to be there once more.  
  
Her eyes landed on her alarm clock and she felt a small twinge of panic when she saw it was ten to elevn. How long had the ruddy thing been going off?  
  
She fumbled with the buttons on the clock until there was silence, and stumbled, still barely half-awake, to her closet, where she began rummaging around in search of some clothes.  
  
She emerged from her room, 5 minutes later, in a long white tank top and a knee-length orange and yellow skirt, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail slightly to the right of her head, and fastened with a plastic imitation of Lily's namesake.  
  
Her mother, Merideth Evans, looked up from scrubbing the kitchen table and raised an eyebrow in surprise.  
  
"Lily, what are you doing up before Noon?" she asked, her voice, very like Lily's, ringing soft and sweet despite the joking undertones throughout the sunkissed mahogany room.  
  
Lily blinked a few times while pouring herself some orange juice, and, noticing she had but a minute left, decided a full explanation could wait, and shrugged. "M'goin' out to do some errands," she said, downing the orange juice in one gulp.  
  
"What erra-" her mother began, but Lily was already headed out the door.  
  
She stood at the sidewalk's edge, looking up and down the street expectantly.  
  
A few blocks away, Lily could hear the bells of the nearest church chiming. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1-  
  
Lily blinked.  
  
Halfway through the eleventh chime a triple decker bus, in an abrasive shade of orange, had appeared, its side mirror barely an inch from the tip of Lily's nose. Little did she know that it was of the same bus company as the bus which would one day almost run down her son in an alleyway across the sea.  
  
The door swung open and Lily saw Sage's freckled face grinning crookedly at her. "'Ello, Mizz Evans," she said, causing the bus driver, a short, balding, portly, brown-haired man, to roll his eyes at her attempts at such an overly-mixed accent. "C'mon in, we've rented out the entire bottom level of the bus, you're the second-last to be picked up."  
  
Lily stepped on, holding her purse tight to her chest, and was met by a sea of curious, expectant, and in many cases nervous, faces.  
  
Sage guided her to a seat slightly ahead of the middle, and sat her there in between two girls.  
  
On her left side, in the window seat, was a tall, thin, athletic-looking girl with a long, angular face which was slightly reminiscent of Sage's considerably friendlier one, with a foot-tall, naturally orange mohawk and a spiky centimeter-long orange layer of hair covering the sides of her head. Her long, slightly crooked nose, thin, scowling lips, and wide, speckled grey eyes each stood out yet melded in her profile as she gazed sullenly out of the window.  
  
Lily, more than slightly intimidated by this wild-looking girl, looked to the girl in the aisle seat instead.  
  
This one was looking around rather nervously, hands fidgiting in her lap as she tried to look everywhere but at another pair of eyes.  
  
The bus made a particularly violent lurch, and Lily took this opportunity to properly study the other girl.  
  
She looked to be short, probably even shorter than Lily herself, and she was slightly chubby, though in a pleasantly feminine way, far from being an eyesore. She had straight, shoulder-length brown hair which curled outwards at the bottom, and had two purely white chunks framing the side of her face. Her thick brown bangs curled ever-so-slightly towards her eyebrows at the tips, and she had chocolaty brown eyes with golden flecks and dark, perfectly-curled eyelashes.  
  
While her gigantic, deer-caught-in-headlights were certainly the most remarkable part of her face, the rest was far from ordinary. She had pouty, pale pink lips (which were currently shining with lip gloss, that and light pink eyeshadow being her only makeup), and a short button nose which turned up at the end.  
  
Deciding to make an attempt at friendliness, Lily smiled at the aisle girl and offered a hand. "Hi, I'm Lily Evans, who're you?" she chimed.  
  
The girl blinked, looked at Lily's hand for a second, then broke out in a brilliant smile, shaking her hand enthusiastically and replying in high, bubbling tones. "I'm Rose Williams!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "Your accent is way cool, by the way," she added, smile falling into a comfortable but sunny grin.  
  
"Thanks," Lily said, smiling. She turned in her seat to face the other girl, who was still glaring resolutely out the window. "And who would you be?" Lily asked, still smiling but perfectly ready to bolt at any sudden movements.  
  
The girl sighed deeply, closed her eyes, and then opened them to shoot Lily a sneer and the most disdainful of looks. "I'm Magaran Landry," she hissed. "And unlike you, I'm not an ickle Firstey, I'm just here to help out my sister," she nodded at Sage, who was chatting animatedly to the bus driver, who was looking as though he'd quite rather saw off his ear than listen to her. "So don't talk to me, you filthy little creature."  
  
Before Lily could think of a proper response, Rose was tugging on her arm, gesturing at the windows on the other side of the bus.  
  
She looked through the glass and her eyes fell on a girl who looked to be around 14 storming furiously across a front lawn away from a white house which would have been utterly non-descript had it not been for all the random objects strewn pell-mell around it. As the girl walked away, she swung suddenly around and made a rather rude hand gesture and appeared to yell furiously at the empty open doorway. Suddenly a large man in a white shirt appeared there, holding a young girl of around 6 with long, dark brown hair and eyes that Lily could see, even from inside the bus, as a dark crystal blue. The little girl was kicking and scratching at the man, but he didn't seem to notice. He used his other hand to throw a toaster at the older girl, which flew through the air and hit her squarely in the forehead, resulting in another hand gesture and more shrieking.  
  
Just as a tall, blonde woman who looked like something out of the magazines Lily had seen the older boys in her neighbourhood carry home with many an eager glance and paranoid twitch appeared in the doorway at the man's side and began beating him with a rolling pin, the girl stepped onto the bus, to be greeted by a deafening silence and many a shocked stare.  
  
"Yeah, fuck you all, too," she said in a rather hoarse, but deep and lovely voice, as she pushed her way past the shocked Sage. "Hey, Mags," she added, nodding at the now-smirking mohawked girl beside Lily.  
  
Magaran jumped up and walked on the backs of the seats, past Lily and Rose and into the aisle, where she was joined by the other girl.  
  
Lily stared as the girl passed her. She had a sea of braids and dreadlocks ranging in color from deepest black to whitest blonde. They were currently piled loosely on top of her head, but Lily could see that when down they would reach the small of her back, almost past her waist. She had golden brown eyes, almost a dark amber, and they were framed by the thickest, blackest eyelashes Lily had ever seen. She was around 5'8, and had a body which Lily couldn't help but think of as ideal. Long-looking and lean-muscled, athletic yet with curves which any masterpiece of a sculpture could be proud of, and Lily subconsciously thought of the girl as just that; a masterpiece.  
  
She bustled by in a swirl of tan leather fringe, tight black suede, thigh-high boots and a thin, arched eyebrow at Lily's staring.  
  
She and Magaran, who Lily now saw moved with a primal grace, as that of some wild animal, sat down at the very back of the first level, and Lily sat back, staring straight ahead of her as the bus resumed its lurching and bumping.  
  
This was going to be a very, very strange day.  
  
R&R please, it makes me happy. And full of joy and bliss and glee and all that good stuff. And I really want this chapter to get reviews, because my arm hurts now from typing. A lot. Dang.  
  
Cheers,  
  
Pooksie 


	6. Friendship Doomination

If It's The Last Thing I Do  
  
(Well, It's True That We Love Each Other)  
  
*!*  
  
Chapter: 5/? ["Frinedship Doomination"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Beta: N/A  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Illustrations: N/A  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: Chapter Summary: Sirius and James' newly found friendship takes a turn for the worst. Full Summary: This is my version of how Lily and James got together. [From the humble beginnings of Jamie bullying Lil, to Lily's short time spent in The Canadian Institution Of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and The Arts, to her moving back to the UK to attend Hogwarts (le fateful reunion), and all through memories, hate, resentment, fear, crushes, and finally love (awww), this is gonna be a damned long story and a damned good one so ya better read it!!!]  
  
Warnings: Over the course of this story there will be Het, Slash, Rape, Violence, Language, and probably other offending stuff I don't consider offending but someone else does. Bleh.  
  
Archiving: Ask first  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Rating: PG or G ...  
  
Pairing(s): Throughout the course of this fic there will be the following pairings [Lily/James, Remus/Sirius, Sirius/OC, Peter/OC, OC/OC, Severus/OC and the list goes on ...]  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at.  
  
Category: Romance/Humor, with some angst thrown in  
  
A/N: Thanks to the following reviewers: kaufee_cake {hugs and kisses to ze lovely Dani}, sugar_shooter, MaRaUdEr 4 LiFe (ff.net, on 'These Things I Should Have Said'), CC (ff.net, on 'The Last Thing You'd Want To Wake Up To'), Lady Stone (ff.net, on 'The Last Thing You'd Want To Wake Up To'), Elizabeth Hawxhurst (about my fan fics in general ...), Thailia Nicolita (ff.net, on 'The Last Thing You'd Want TO Wake Up To'), ILoveSnuffles (ff.net, on 'No Such Thing'), meltedcrayon (On this, and Year 13) {which I might make another installment to if I'm ever so possessed to do so/find the time to}, ghostwalker (on Year 13) {Ahhh my ever-faithful Spook, you never fail to review. *pets*}, kitsune_aka (on Year 13), Faerie Fighter (ff.net, on 'No Such Thing'), Tap Dancing Widow (ff.net, on TLTYWTWUT) {yes, you most certainly are a brave ff.net reader. Nice hero stance. Have a margarita. *hands over yummy peach margarita*}, tensai_megami (on Year 13) {ahhh me crazy Sarah/Marauders!Slut!Lily}, , and sorry I took so long to get this up. Heh. Now, on with READINATION! Hee.  
  
Friendship DOOMINATION!  
  
"C'mon!" James called excitedly back to Sirius, glancing at the tall boy as he pushed his way through the bushes.  
  
Sirius had led the way towards where James said his cabin was until the smaller boy had regained his bearing, and now he was running a few metres ahead of him, eager to show his family his new friend; the kind Black. James was already plotting out their future exploits at Hogwarts, for surely they would both be sorted into Gryffindor.  
  
As the small wooden cabin came into view, Sirius raised his eyebrows. So this was what a typical Wizard cabin looked like. Cozy and rustic, with a soft golden glow coming from within the windows; very unlike the cold, gigantic stone prison he saw his family's cabin as.  
  
He'd never been allowed to come near the more average cabins; his mother had forbidden it.  
  
"You will not associate with such filthy riff-raff as that," she'd hissed, while Regulus snickered coldly behind her back.  
  
Regulus was the reason he'd ran into James. He'd lost his temper with the younger boy, and socked him in the nose. He hadn't stuck around to asses the damage, but Sirius was sure that he'd heard a crack resonate through the air.  
  
He fought back a grimace at the beating he'd get when he got home. He knew he was only making them angrier, but he couldn't help it.  
  
He pasted a weak smile onto his face as James knocked on the door, desperate to attempt to make a good impression for his parents. Maybe they'd let him sleep over? The smile turned genuine.  
  
The door opened, and a figure appeared in sillouette against the golden light which rushed out.  
  
"James!" it shrieked, sounds of tears choking its voice as it fell to its knees, hugging James, much to the young boy's chagrin.  
  
"Mum!" he moaned mournfully, squirming and batting weakly at her face as she covered his with kisses, still holding him tightly.  
  
As another, larger sillouette appeared behind the first, blocking out the cabin's backlighting, Sirius observed his new friend's mother.  
  
She was pretty, and looked younger than she had to be: same as James. She had dark blonde hair and James' hazel eyes, but that was seemingly the only similarity between the two, aside from both being of average height and rather small build.  
  
As they stepped into the cabin, James' mother shooting Sirius a minute glance as she rushed her son inside, Sirius looked up at James' father.  
  
Considerably more imposing than his female counterpart, he stood well over 6 feet tall, with a large belly which although it was certainly not muscle, didn't take away at all from the intimidating feeling he gave off of being able to rip you to pieces if you gave him reason to. Though he was beginning to bald, Sirius could see this was where James had gotten his unruly black hair from. He had also, apparently, gotten his eyesight from his father, as the man was wearing thick, golden-framed glasses.  
  
He held a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands, and was staring down at Sirius, a slight gleam of suspicion in his eyes ... Sirius hoped he hadn't known and recognised all the facial traits he shared with his mother. He silently cursed the woman.  
  
When James' father spoke, it came out in a deep, low rumble, somehow both kind and threatening at once. "And who're you, young man?" he asked, an eyebrow raised as he surveyed Sirius, who opened his mouth to speak, but ...  
  
"He's gonna be the first Gryffindor Black, Dad, I swear it," James exclaimed excitedly, throwing an arm around Sirius and hanging off of him, an admirable feat considering the height difference between the two. "Sirius Potter!!!"  
  
Sirius, blushing slightly, but grinning broadly, held a hand out to James' father. "I'm Sirius Black," he said, this time with none of the self-disgust of his previous introduction, even with a hint of pride.  
  
James' mother smiled, hazel eyes crinkling ever so slightly with semi-prominent crow's feet, but in Sirius' opinion it just made her prettier. The only wrinkles his mom had were frown lines.  
  
"Alright then," she nodded, stepping towards an open wooden kitchen. "I'll get you two something to drink."  
  
James' father surveyed him, still with some mild suspicion, and Sirius could tell he'd probably had some considerable amount of experience with his family.  
  
Suddenly, the imposing man smiled. "Will you be sleeping over tonight? he asked.  
  
Sirius and James' faces both lit up, and the shorter boy was just about to give an excited affirmative answer, when -  
  
"A Black, eh?" A very old, stooped man with miles of wrinkles and a worn wooden cane had appeared in the doorway to the hall which led to the bedroom. He hobbled forwards, eyeing Sirius suspiciously with an eyebrow cocked high upon his heavily lined forehead. Suddenly, his head snapped to face James' father, who was regarding the man with a look of great apprehension. "Never trust a Black, Jimmy. SCUM, all of 'em."  
  
James' mother had returned, a kettle in her hand and a look of horror on her pretty face. "Jim!" she said in a loud whisper. "Get him OUT of here!"  
  
James' father hurriedly began ushering the man back down the hall, and James, who had been staring at him, pale and stricken, turned around slowly, speaking in lowered, apologetic tones. "Sirius, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. That's my grandfather, Elias, he's crazy, and -"  
  
But Sirius was already out the door.  
  
.TBC.  
  
Please read and review. Please? *puppy dog eyes* It makes me happy.  
  
Pooki N' Jessica 


	7. A Strange Day Part 2

Title: If It's The Last Thing I Do (Well, It's True That We Love Each Other ...)  
  
Chapter: 6/? ["This Is A Chapter Title"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: Chapter Summary: "She and Rose stood under a tall sign, which, looking up, Lily saw read 'Sub Conchesse Alley'. Weird name." Okay, that's not a great quote, but there's a really funny quote in here ... really. *sighs* Full Summary: This is my version of how Lily and James got together. [From the humble beginnings of Jamie bullying Lil, to Lily's short time spent in The Canadian Institution Of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and The Arts, to her moving back to the UK to attend Hogwarts (le fateful reunion), and all through memories, hate, resentment, fear, crushes, and finally love (awww), this is gonna be a damned long story and a damned good one so ya better read it!!!]  
  
Warnings: Over the course of this story there will be Het, Slash, Rape, Violence, Language, and probably other offending stuff I don't consider offending but someone else does. Bleh.  
  
Archiving: Ask first (already on ff.net and my LiveJournal [pookizegreat])  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Pairing(s): Throughout the course of this fic there will be the following pairings [Lily/James, Remus/Sirius, Sirius/OC, Peter/OC, OC/OC, Severus/OC and the list goes on ...]  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at.  
  
Category: Romance/Humor, with some angst thrown in  
  
A/N: This chapter is absurdly long. It is roughly 5 times longer than the average chapter. Enjoy. NOTE: Not all of these reviews are for 'If It's The Last Thing I Do'. I just use THIS fic's A/N to thank all the reviewers, whether they reviewed this fic or not. Savvy? Great. honerlovesfrank (who is under the delusion that I could outdo JK Rowling *squee*), artemisofluna (who enjoys the fact that Sirius cannot cook. At all. James: *moans and nods in agreement, holds his stomach* Sirius: *throws frying pan at us* Hehhh ... -.-*), _papillon_, slytherinslife, shedreamsin_red, nuklear_firefly, ghostwalker, meltedcrayon (my idiocy and ineptitude at coming up with titles seems to entertain her), asuka_unit02, kitsune_aka, geminigoddess25, jiffy_spiffy (who has the fucking sexiest icon ever. EVER.), broken_trust, orlandosonlyluv (who moved to GJ. *sniff*), toffeeokim, kaufee_cake, kelmedren, gratchafoxa, faeryglitter, edgefire, kitsuchi, tensai_megami, bellslave, Tove. [the following are all FictionAlley reviewers: Brittney, Sarefine Snape, magdellin, HoGwArTsISrEaL007, Caitie Klein, aidenfire, Astraea de Saa, Fantail100, MrsDracoMalfoy] {the following are all www.fanfiction.net reviewers: Jade-Jaganashi, Cole-Lover, DayDreamer42, chewy1, Cornpuffs, LilyE, pan weasley kent, wicherwill, Dragon Faere, Werewolf-Luva} Also, I tried to make this as close to Canon as I could using my plotline, okay? And I wouldn't expect the next chapter to show up soon, as it'll most likely be every bit as long as this one, which had to be saved as two separate files in Notepad. -.-  
  
Chapter 6  
  
This Is A Chapter Title  
  
Lily walked stiffly out of the bus, which had come to a very sudden stop; knocking everyone forward a couple rows, even, Lily noticed with a twinge of malicious pleasure, Magaran.  
  
She and Rose stood under a tall sign which, looking up, Lily saw read 'Sub Conchesse Alley'. Weird name.  
  
They waited for everyone else to get off the bus and soon most of the students had left with various guides Sage had greeted cheerfully and sent groups of 3-4 kids with, so that only Lily, Rose, and Sage stood under the sign. The beautiful girl whose name Lily had overheard to be Faith and Magaran stood a few metres off, at the edge of the sidewalk, and a boy with wiry, poofed-out black hair, overly white skin, and unusually broad shoulders for such a gangly form stood in between them, chewing mechanically on his lip and shooting furtive glances all around.  
  
"So!" Sage exclaimed cheerfully, clapping her hands together and looking around at the five. "I'll be taking you all, then."  
  
Magaran snorted. "I can take Faith, sister."  
  
Sage raised her eyebrows. "I dunno, Mags, it's customary for Muggle-born first years to be taken by a proper adult, and -"  
  
"'Proper Adult'?" Magaran sneered. "If I'm no 'proper adult' why'd you drag me along with you, huh? W- YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, WOMAN!" she yelled as Sage began to speak.  
  
Sage did as she was told, looking highly indignant.  
  
"Fine then," she said in a waspishly short tone. "Have it your way."  
  
Magaran spat onto the sidewalk. "Damned right I'll have it my way, stupid bitch, only her first year n' she's'already tryin' t'order me arou-" she stopped her mutterings as Faith put a friendly but firm hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Lay off, Mags," she said quietly.  
  
She smiled charmingly up at Sage, hand starting to steer Magaran away. "We'll take care, Miss Landry, don't you worry yourself about it. We'll be back here at 3."  
  
The four people left behind stared after the pair as they walked away, the three childrens' mouths slightly agape, and Sage looking quite stung.  
  
Finally, the strange boy spoke. "That girl's in the first year?" he exclaimed increduously, voicing the surprise of his peers at Faith's age.  
  
"Aye," Sage said softly. "Faith's barely 11, just like the rest of ye. She's ... she's a bit of a special case," she ended lamely, turning away.  
  
She pasted a smile on her face. "C'mon, all of ye, we gotta go get that money exchanged," she said, nodding at the assorted bills and coins the boy, Lily, and Rose held and breaking into a swift walk.  
  
They walked in silence for a few minutes before suddenly the boy turned to walk backwards behind Sage, facing Lily and Rose, and grinned, holding out his hand for a quickest girl to shake.  
  
"I'm Jack," he said brightly. "Jack Kirkus."  
  
Lily, seemingly the less shy of the two, took his hand and shook it, noticing his long, strong fingers with an involuntary twinge of something altogether unfamiliar.  
  
"I'm Lily Evans," she said slowly, green eyes slightly narrowed and mouth slightly quirked as she took in his face.  
  
He had a broad, square-ended nose and wide, almond-shaped eyes like hers, but larger, with irisis every bit as black as his hair, which was slightly below chin length and stuck out at the sides. He had a wide, devilish mouth, with full cupid's bow lips which moved in a smile to reveal rows of shiny, white, and strangely pointed teeth.  
  
Rose took his hand and introduced herself, her bright brown eyes flashing over him in a manner Lily knew with a slight flush was probably uncannily similar to the way hers had.  
  
He gave the two a dashing smile and pulled a top hat out of nowhere and placed it carefully upon his messy hair, somehow looking like a fine gentleman, though he appeared no older than his age and was otherwise clothed in a black t-shirt, black jeans, and black, highly-polished shoes.  
  
Lily felt slightly weak in the knees, and had the fleeting vision of him sweeping her up and holding her in his unusually well-muscled arms, an image she quickly pushed away.  
  
Lord, what was wrong with her today?  
  
Suddenly Lily realised they were in a large, marble hall. She looked behind her to try to spot a name, but couldn't find a sign in sight.  
  
But as she returned her gaze forwards, such trivial thoughts were replaced by the sighting of an altogether strange creature.  
  
It was about a head shorter than Lily, and had a rather cunning-looking face, a pointed beard, and unusually long fingers. That was about all she could see of him, as he was behind a desk. She blinked as Rose whispered softly in her ear "Goblin." From the confused, yet interested look on Jack's face, Lily was guessing Rose had whispered it to him as well.  
  
Lily blinked a few times, realising that the goblin, Rose, Jack, and Sage were all watching her expectantly.  
  
"Sage said to give her your money," said Rose in a quiet whisper.  
  
Lily blinked yet again, then, grinning embarassedly, handed over the money she'd gotten for her birthday. Her parents would pay her back later. Er, hopefully they would, anyways.  
  
The goblin, after giving the young redhead a look which plainly told her he thought every bit as strange as she thought him, handed her back a small bag full of gold, silver, and bronze coins.  
  
"The bronze ones are Knuts, the silver ones're Sickles, n' the gold'uns are Galleons," said the goblin boredly, obviously having explained this many multiple times before.  
  
"Oh!" exclaimed Jack brightly. "So, 100 Knuts to a Sickle and 100 Sickles to a Galleon, then, right?" Lily nodded along with him, identical, rather proud grins on their faces.  
  
The goblin broke into a fit of wild snickers and Sage looked at each of them in turn as if they had three heads, while Rose smacked her forehead.  
  
"Er," said young girl mumbled, "no, not quite." The grins slowly dissolved from Lily and Jack's faces. "Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon. It's easy enough, once you've had to deal with Wizard money for a while," she said, trying not to laugh at the deeply bewildered looks on her new friends' faces.  
  
"Oh," said Jack, blushing faintly, giving a tinge of pink to his unhealthy white skin. "Well ... let's go, then."  
  
They went to many places that afternoon.  
  
First, the Apothecary, where the three huddled together, Jack being the brave one and telling the cock-eyed clerk what materials they needed, whilst Sage, apparently undisturbed by the strange things cramming the store (not to mention the smell), tutted over the apparently absurdly high price of Boomslang Skin. Next, they headed over to be fitted in their robes (Jack squirmed, he felt like he was "being encased in a ruddy dress, dammit!" Sage merely raised an eyebrow and he fell silent). Then to a bookstore where Lily managed to buy a large collection of hexes while Sage's back was turned. After that they headed over to a place called Ollivanders, which, according to Sage, had only two branches in the world, the other being in a place called Diagon Alley, away in London (Jack asked why they had two branches so near each other, and Sage had to kindly explain that she didn't mean the London in Ontario).  
  
There was a rather frightening man in there named Mr Ollivander, who explained to the three while he took their measurements that he only came himself to this store once a year for the months of June and July, to get all of the Canadian children their wands. Lily had asked why the Canadians in other provinces didn't have wand stores of his own, and Mr Ollivander had fixed her with a stony stare and told her that they did, but there was no wand store so fine as Ollivanders. He then began rambling about how people even came from the United States and Mexico to see him, and that his family had been making wands since 382 B.C. That was when Lily started tuning him out, instead concentrating on how silly she felt waving the wands around.  
  
Finally, a wand she waved actually did something, sending warm orange and red sparks and ribbons of mist out of the tip, and Mr Ollivander smiled. "Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow with a single Unicorn hair. Should be good at Charms work, this one."  
  
Jack's chose him considerably sooner, shooting out blue, white, and yellow sparks and stars. Mr Ollivander raised an eyebrow. "Fir, 13 inches, strong, with a Phoenix feather core. Ideal for Transfiguration."  
  
Rose's took by far the longest, and when finally Mr Ollivander said "Larch with phoenix feather core, 9 inches long, thin with a good spring to it. Should be wonderful for any and all protection spells," eyed Rose carefully, and finished "this is a very powerful wand," handing her back her wand, they'd been all too eager to get out of there.  
  
Now they walked through the crowd mulling about in the street, the trio continuously peering in their bags to fascinate at the day's purchases. Suddenly Rose stopped, looking longingly at a very dark store to their left. It had no title, but Lily could see dozens of sets of eyes inside, glowing amber.  
  
Owl eyes.  
  
"Sage," Rose said slowly, turning to face the older woman with her eyes still fixed on the store's tinted window. "My old owl died a few months ago, and I have some money left over, d'you think I coul-"  
  
"A'course!" said Sage brightly, taking Rose's hand and walking swiftly towards the store. She shot a glance back at Jack and Lily, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"You two!" she called over her shoulder. "DON'T. GO. ANYWHERE!"  
  
And with that Rose and Sage disappeared into the store.  
  
Jack and Lily looked slowly to each other, identical mischevious grins lighting up their faces.  
  
"So," Lily said casually, "shall we -"  
  
"GO!" Jack yelled, grabbing hold of her hand and breaking into a fast run.  
  
***  
  
Lily clutched onto Jack's hand, looking around slowly.  
  
"Where are we?" she asked quietly, looking around the dark alley they'd wandered into. It was like something out of a movie, there were clouds of thick smog coming from chimneys which varied from one to four per dark-brown brick building.  
  
There were all sorts of strange people - and, Lily was sure, non-people - walking by, and they all either leered at them or bumped unnecessarily into them as they passed by.  
  
Jack, feeling it was his duty, moved Lily in front of him and held her from behind, shooting comically threatening looks at people twice his size.  
  
Suddenly the two of them were spun around by a man who had to be well over 300 pounds heavy and 6 feet tall.  
  
he was fearsome, with but a few large, sharp teeth, a shaved and tattooed head, and mean little slits of eyes.  
  
His voice came out a fierce growl as he spoke. "How much for the redhead?" he spat at Jack.  
  
The young boy stuttered, looking pale and stricken. "P-P-P-Pardon, sir?" he finally choked out.  
  
"How much fer the pretty little thing?"" he muttered, eyes roaming up and down Lily and making her recoil.  
  
Jack looked at quite a loss and merely stared, open-mouthed, at the man, until suddenly a shout came from further down the street.  
  
"Oi, YOU!" Faith yelled, running up, many dark-colored paper bags in her hands and a deeply amused-looking Magaran and two girls she didn't know in tow.  
  
"Back away, you sick fuck!" the dread-donning girl said, stepping in between the man and the pair.  
  
Had Lily not been so frightened she would have laughed. While Faith certainly was taller than the other two, at around 5'8", that still left her a good foot shorter than the man, and she certainly didn't look strong enough to fight him, despite the fact that she was practically bristling with anger.  
  
They stood there, Lily and Jack cowering, the general crowd watching with detached curiousity, Faith glaring up at the man, fists clenched, and the man looking rather taken aback, until he started laughing.  
  
It was seemingly not a wise move, as the next moment Faith was on top of the man, whose eye was already selling shut as blood poured out of his freshly broken nose.  
  
Faith continued to make mincemeat of the man's face for a few seconds before Magaran and one of the unknown girls got ahold of her and pulled her off, calming her down.  
  
The unknown girl helped the shocked man up while Magaran helped Faith re-gather her bags and put them in a shopping cart the other unknown girl was dragging behind herself.  
  
With a few waves of her wand, the first unknown had the man healed up in a snap, and then, as the other three girls began pulling Jack and Lily along, she smiled up at him, said "Goodbye," she muttered "Obliviate" at which the man's expression mysteriously went blank.  
  
With a pointed look at the crowd, she, too, joined the rest of them in their hurried exit.  
  
"That was a close one," she muttered in a slightly hoarse voice with something reminiscent of a New York accent.  
  
"Too close," piped up the other, who looked remarkably alike to the first, but many years younger.  
  
"What were you all doing over here?" shot Faith at Lily and Jack, ignoring the reproachful glares of her fellows.  
  
"Er," Jack said, saving Lily the necessity of having to look the furious girl in the eyes. "We just ran off here. Sage told us not to go anywhere, but -"  
  
"DO NOT disobey my sister," Magaran hissed. Lily felt this was a very hypocritical command, but did not say so, settling instead for the flitting smirk that passed Faith's lips at her friend's words.  
  
Suddenly the young unknown spoke again, in a chirp which, unlike the older one, was purely Canadian in accent. "Cover their eyes," she said, and at that Faith stepped behind Lily, and Magaran behind Jack, both putting their hands over the youngsters' eyes. Lily caught a fleeting glimpse of a sign which no doubt showed the street's name, and she would have protested, but the unfamiliar feeling of Faith's arms resting on her shoulders and her breasts lightly brushing against Lily's back was an altogether pleasant one, so she remained silent.  
  
"Sorry 'bout this, kidsies," came the throaty drawl of the first unknown. "But if you knew the street name and we ever got on your bad side, you might feel inclined to rat on or blackmail us, and we couldn't have that."  
  
Lily almost began swearing she would never betray any of them, but, thinking that was not the proper thing to do if she wanted to make friends, instead changed the subject.  
  
"So, what were you guys doing over there?" she asked.  
  
She heard Magaran cough slightly and the young girl giggle.  
  
"We go there to buy lingerie and other purchases of a purely naughty nature," came the first unknown's laughing reply.  
  
That shut Lily up for a while.  
  
***  
  
Roughly 3/4 of an hour later, the seven of them sat in the very back of the bus, Rose having rejoined the group as soon as they'd gotten back to Sub Conchesse Alley, with a lovely tawny owl she'd named Isis.  
  
Sage, though she was still shooting deeply suspicious glances at the group every few minutes, had after 10 minutes' convincing accepted the group's reassurances that they had not run off to anywhere far away (during these explanations Lily gave Rose a secret glance and mouthed "I'll tell you later.").  
  
After that, they'd gone with the rest of the students and guides to a large but cozy tea shop/chocolatrie where, to Lily's great relief, unlike the majority of the girls there, the table where Lily and her new friends sat had happily pounced on and devoured the chocolate, and occasionally threw a treat or two over to the tables where girls spoke fretfully of their various diets while no one was looking, and then would burst into silent laughter when, inevitably, one of them would snatch and eat it while the other girls' eyes were elsewhere.  
  
Lily found out a lot about her new companions at that table.  
  
Faith Jones was born on October 30th, and had had a twin sister named Fiona, who had died of pneumonia at the age of 2. She had a younger half-sister named Ember, the dark-haired beauty they'd seen before, and her birth mother had died when she was 3, leaving her alone with her abusive drunk of a father named Jerry. Soon after, he'd married Bunny, a then-26-year old porn star, who, after much begging, had birthed Ember. She was Muggle-born, like Lily, but had been friends with magaran since she was five. Said redhead was only too happy to inform her of the world most girls in her situation would have never suspected, and had been teaching her spells ever since she'd started going to The Institute (which gave Faith a good three years' experience more than the other first years).  
  
Magaran, on the other hand, was from a Pureblood family, Sage was her older sister, and together they took care of their mother, who hadn't spoken in five years, merely sat all day in a rocking chair in a sunroom staring straight ahead until the girls carried her to her bed when the sun set, at which point she would instantly fall asleep. Magarn thought that, for the most part, humans were useless, liked old music and movies, and her biggest life goal was to get bitten by a werewolf, something which Lily thought rather strange after quickly being informed that the transformations were extremely painful, and they were shunned in most parts of the world (and killed in the remaining parts).  
  
Rose was a half-blood, with a witch for a mother and a Muggle father. Her mother was very busy working at her job as an Auror for the Ministry of Magic (Lily was shocked at the discovery of both such things), and had so requested that she be sent with the other Muggle-borns to pick up her things. She openly admitted to being a girly-girl, liking romance novels, pink things, and perfume. Her favorite flower was, naturally, the rose.  
  
Jack was also Muggle-born. He had an older brother Dan who had blacked his eye and called him a queer when he'd gotten his letter (Lily had tentatively placed a comforting hand on his shoulder for a second upon hearing this before remembering herself and taking it away, bright red in the face, although the rest of the table noticed Jack didn't seem to mind much at all). he liked showtunes, dancing, and thought that Audrey Hepburn was the perfect woman (Lily suddenly found herself despising Audrey Hepburn, despite the fact that she didn't really know who she was).  
  
Then, there was Amanda and June Avern.  
  
Amanda was going into her seventh and final year at The Institute, but had been friends with Magaran and Faith for a good three years (since Mag's first year). She'd moved, along with June, to Toronto from (as Lily had suspected), New York, having been kicked out by her Muggle father when he'd found out what she was (Lily noticed Amanda's voice went extremely quiet and toneless when she spoke of her father). June, for self-preservation, had trained herself to speak like a Canadian, but Amanda had merely hexed everyone who made fun of her accent until they got the idea and learned to respect her. She liked corsets, stilleto boots, and snakes, and had long ago decided she would be a showgirl when she got out of school, and work on her true passion - painting - when she had the time. She'd explained that she'd rather just do the Starving Artist thing and concentrate solely on her works, but, she'd said with an affectionate look at June, she had a little sister to take care of. She had tightly-curled hair which was somewhere around chin-length when let straight, and wide chocolate-brown eyes which were slightly hooded, with the premature beginnings of crow's feet at the edges, and they slowly traveled up and down the length of the table, taking in everything and having an oddly calming effect on everyone who met them. Her nose was long, with a slightly square, up-turned end (Magaran smirked and said that it had used to be pierced until Amanda had gotten bored with it), and she had a shininy layer of pure red lipstick. Looking at her vintage clothing like a 1920's flapper, with the slightest of enticing smiles gracing her world-weary face, Lily definitely thought she looked the type to be a showgirl.  
  
Then there was Jane, who was oddly extraordinary in a plain-looking way. She had straight, shoulder-length hair and thick bangs which went just over her eyebrows. Her wide eyes were similar to her sister's, although they had an unusual hint of purple and looked rather mystical. She rarely spoke, but when she did it was always exactly the right thing at exactly the right time, and everyone at the table who knew her happily asserted that she far outsmarted them all, and she wouldn't ever need to study: she remembered EVERYTHING.  
  
They explained that at The Institute, there was the building where the classes were taught, another in which they ate, and three others for living in: one for the male students, one for their female counterparts, and one for the teachers.  
  
These living buildings, at least the students' ones, were divided up into 7 sections; one for each year.  
  
They had many classes, and ran on a bi-weekly schedule. They all took 14 classes for their 7 years there, those being:  
  
-Astronomy (interesting enough, and beautiful, but it could get very complicated)  
  
-Transfiguration (it was all very interesting, and funny at times, but difficult, and tended to be monotonous and aggravating for your first few years)  
  
-Defense Against The Dark Arts (a favorite among the students, definitely one of the most popular and interesting classes)  
  
-Charms ("Useful, verrrrrrrry useful," said Magaran with an altogether evil grin.)  
  
-History Of Magic (Amanda and Magaran chorused a yawn in unison)  
  
-Care Of Magical Creatures (Faith and June's faces both lit up at mention of the class; they apparently were both greatly looking forward to it, being of the opinion that Chimaeras and Hippogriffs were just about the most aodrable things in the world, and this time it was Rose who gave Lily an "I'll Tell You Later Look")  
  
-Divination ("An utter load of rubbish for the most part, unless you're an actual Seer, which is highly rare," sighed Amanda. "But it's an easy grade when you make things up, so that's alright.")  
  
-Arithmancy (which apparently made University-level Algebra look like 1st-grade math)  
  
-Herbology ("It sounds boring, but some of those plants are positively vicious. It'd be a laugh to give a Muggle one," snickered Magaran, earning a reproachful glance from Amanada, who was unusually fond of non-magic folk, especially considering what her father had done.)  
  
-Potions (Faith winced. Apparently, Magaran, who thought Potions was just about the best subject in the world, had attempted to teach Faith said subject, and she had proved to be awe-inspiringly adept at melting cauldrons.)  
  
-Ancient Runes (Amanda held up a charm bracelet which apparently, thanks to the Rune charms dangling from it, would protect her from all evil so long as she wore it. She swore up and down that she was always decorating something with runes.)  
  
-Muggle Studies (which was apparently vastly amusing for anyone who had ever had prolonged contact with Muggles, and was a definite easy grade for them)  
  
-Quidditch (Most magic schools didn't have a class dedicated to the sport, especially in North America, but Catkin Enders, the Headmaster, was apparently a Quidditch fanatic and thought it essential that his students be educated in both the practical and theoretical facets of it)  
  
And finally,  
  
-Art Of Choice (The Institute offered further education of various arts, those being singing; dancing; guitar and bass; drums and percussion; piano, organs, and keys; violin, cello, and the like; a class for the various other instruments (including but not limited to accordian, bagpipes, and the harmonica); art; photography; and acting.)  
  
"So basically it's a bunch of fucked-up art fags with wands," said Amanda proudly, sending the table into another fit of laughter.  
  
And so here Lily was, with six new friends when this morning she'd had none, laughing and chatting animatedly as if they'd all known each other for years.  
  
Lily blinked as the bus jolted to a stop and Jack got up. She waved sadly as he stepped off, his new purchases in tow.  
  
Faith sighed, staring mounrfully at her hands. "I don't reckon I'm gonna fancy going home," she said quietly, thinking of Jerry and his hard hands.  
  
Magaran snorted. "Nor I. Mom's off at the hospital being checked up and Sage's goin' out with that foul boyfriend of hers, so I'll be sitting alone in the house staring at the wall and waiting for it to move," (she'd earlier disclosed that her house was haunted by a particularly violent pair of ghosts).  
  
Amanda snorted. "Like we wanna go back to our apartment and listen to the neighbours beat each other up," she quipped, gesturing at June, who nodded solemnly.  
  
Rose, too, showed signs of great displeasure at the idea of returning home. "Mom and Dad are both off on business trips so it's sittin' on the couch watching TV and eatin' soup out of a can for me," she sighed.  
  
Lily grinned hesitantly. "You guys could all sleep over at my place, if you'd like," she said quietly.  
  
"Are you serious?" demanded Magaran, leaning forward and looking rather desperate.  
  
"Er, yes," Lily said, smiling a bit.  
  
The girls all cheered and Faith literally leapt on her, making Lily think that regardless of how angry her parents might be with her for inviting 5 strange girls over for the night without getting permission, it was worth it.  
  
***  
  
**the chapter is continued, kids. Notepad just wouldn't let me save it all in one file. So move on to the next chapter! w00t!** 


	8. A Strange Day Part 2 part 2

Lily, Faith, Rose, Magaran, June and Amanda stood on the Evans family's doorstep, Lily preparing to inform her family of the sleepover, the other girls all straightening out their hair and clothing in an attempt to prepare a good first impression.  
  
Finally, Lily rang the doorbell and a moment later the door opened, the sound of a football game on TV and Petunia loudly complaining that she simply must have three different kinds of conditioner for her social life to even attempt to succeed pouring out as Merideth Evans looked over the crowd of unfamiliar faces her daughter had brought home.  
  
"Er, Mom, I've invited some friends for a night over, if that's alright."  
  
Merideth sighed as she looked at the six hopeful girls. On one hand, she didn't want her daughter thinking she could make such plans without informing her, but on the other ... when before had Lily had one good friend to invite over, let alone five?  
  
And so she smiled and opened the door wider, gesturing the girls to come in, and they all gave their thank you's, and Lily's father raised his eyebrows at the newcomers, and Petunia looked positively bewildered, and Lily thought this most certainly would be a very good night until -  
  
"Oh, Lily dear, what were those errands for?" Merideth asked casually, eyeing the bags they all held semi-suspiciously.  
  
The girls' mouths dropped open, and Petunia even wandered in from the kitchen, phone to her ear, looking mildly curious, as Lily's mind worked furiously to come up with a simple, non-shocking way to tell her family.  
  
"Uhm, Mom ... I'm ... I'm a ... a witch."  
  
Petunia dropped the phone on the floor, leaving Amy Bridges, an extremely popular friend of hers, yelling into the reciever demanding to know why she wasn't talking.  
  
Well wasn't this going to be interesting.  
  
T.B.C  
  
R&R? *begs*  
  
Pooks N Jessica 


	9. Family Portrait

Title: If It's The Last Thing I Do (Well, It's True That We Love Each Other ...)  
  
Chapter: 7&7A/? ["Family Portrait"]  
  
Author: Pooki Ze Great  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: Chapter 7 Summary: "'You know the drill.' Sirius nodded, face set." | Chapter 7A Summary: "June 29th - Shit. ~JA"Full Summary: This is my version of how Lily and James got together. [From the humble beginnings of Jamie bullying Lil, to Lily's short time spent in The Canadian Institution Of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and The Arts, to her moving back to the UK to attend Hogwarts (le fateful reunion), and all through memories, hate, resentment, fear, crushes, and finally love (awww), this is gonna be a damned long story and a damned good one so you better read it!!!]  
  
Warnings: This chapter has the following happy, funtime warnings- Mild violence, unfairness to a loved Canon character, and Petunia torture. But I don't think anyone has a trouble with Petunia torture.  
  
Archiving: Ask first (already on ff.net and my LiveJournal [pookizegreat])  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Pairing(s): No pairings in this chapter.  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at and used to light my mother's cancer sticks.  
  
Category: Romance/Humor, with some angst thrown in  
  
A/N: No real A/Ns for today. Hey lookit me! I took like barely over a week to write this chapter! True that I took two days to actually type it up after, but ... *cough* NOTE: Not all of these reviews are for 'If It's The Last Thing I Do'. I just use THIS fic's A/N to thank all the reviewers, whether they reviewed this fic or not. Savvy? Great. xosydluvsuxo, geminigoddess25, blackmagickbaby, nuklear_firefly, nuklear_firefly, TOVE (repeatedly), honerlovesfrank, meltedcrayon, ghostwalker PS: Thesauruses are my friend. ^^*  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Family Portrait  
  
Sirius stormed through the bushes, pushing stray branches out of his path.  
  
He shouldn't be this upset.   
  
He should have expected it.  
  
Everytime he met someone halfway decent it all went up in flames the second they found out his name. Well, other than 'Meda, but that didn't really count. She, too, had been cursed with the Black family name, so she had to understand. Besides, she was 18 years old, had graduated Hogwarts, and left home to live with her boyfriend-of-two-years, Ted Tonks. She wouldn't want him around as a reminder anymore.  
  
He sighed deeply as he reached his family's cabin, and slowly lifted the ornate knocker and let it fall back against the heavy mahogany door two times, waiting, mutely terrified, as the sound resonated throughout the cavernous abode.  
  
He winced slightly as Regulus opened the door. The younger boy looked positively gleeful, a sure sign Sirius's night was about to get worse.  
  
Regulus was pushed lightly aside as their father appeared in the doorway, his face cold and impassive.  
  
"In," he said smoothly, stepping aside so Sirius could enter.  
  
The two sets of footsteps echoed hollowly down the hall as Regulus's snickers cut by alongside the quick clicks of the door shutting and locking.  
  
Sirius inwardly sighed and wished, not for the first time, that if he was damned to belong to a cruel and intolerant family, that he could at least go live with one of Muggles.  
  
Muggle families do harm enough, giving scars both emotional and physical via sharp tongues and quick hands, but a beating from a Wizarding family is endlessly worse.  
  
They have wands.  
  
Sirius looked dully up at his father, who gave him a glare of most potent distaste.  
  
"What," he said slowly, "on earth gave you the idea that you could blacken your brother's eye? SPEAK QUICKLY!"  
  
Sirius glared sullenly at his feet, having long since given up any idea of getting off clean. May as well be honest about it.  
  
"He was insulting 'Meda," he muttered to the uncaring floor, hunching his shoulders and shooting a quick glance at his father, who stood only a few inches taller than Sirius, even though said boy was slouching over. "And besides," he reasoned, "what difference does it make anyways? You've healed him up just fine."  
  
Sirius's father looked positively furious. "What difference does it make? What difference? The humiliation of - the - the ..." he ceased his spluttering for a moment, collecting his wits with eyes tightly shut as he took out his wand.  
  
Finally, seemingly calm enough to form a coherent sentence, Sebastian Black looked down at his son.  
  
"You know the drill."  
  
Sirius nodded, face set.  
  
He managed to bite back a cry as the first blow of a hex hit him, knocking him hard against a wall, but soon dropped any ideas of courage and was screaming freely.  
  
Time flew by in random spurts until finally Sirius found himself laying splayed on the floor, breathing heavily through his mouth with his nose and right eye swelled practically shut and his lips coated with coughed-up blood.  
  
His father, seemingly satisfied that a lesson had been taught, leaned over the young boy, smiling in an altogether predatory way.  
  
"Oh, and Sirius ... Andromeda is a disgusting disgrace, you know that, don't you?"  
  
Sirius was too weak to reply.  
  
***  
  
The water shone with the brilliance of a thousand glittering diamonds, glowing blood red in the sunset.  
  
James Potter stood a distance away from it, watching a tall, dark-haired boy standing at the water's edge and gazing reverently up at the multicolored clouds.  
  
Sirius knew he was there.  
  
James knew that Sirius knew.  
  
And yet neither of them made any move to go closer.  
  
With a sign and a mental shrug of sorts, James walked over to stand beside Sirius.  
  
He looked cautiously up at the other boy, noting with a quiet flare of displeasure the fading bruises on his face.  
  
It had been three weeks since they'd met, and almost every day they'd accidentally passed each other.  
  
It was barely two weeks until they started their first year at Hogwarts, and James and his family were going back to their house the next morning.  
  
'Better late than never,' thought James decidedly as he opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Sirius ..." the other boy showed no sign of hearing him. "M'sorry, mate."  
  
Sirius stared at a rock which the lake's water was softly lapping over, lips pursed.  
  
"Y'know, Elias, the old man, he's my grandfather. He's ruddy mad. No one else in the family thinks like that. We all think you're great, hones'ly, mate."  
  
He waited with baited breath for a response, and cocked an eyebrow as the taller boy took out a mirror from his pocket.  
  
James took it when offered, looking very confused, and his brow furrowed as Sirius began to walk away.  
  
"Oi. OI, SIRIUS!"  
  
The taller boy continued his trek back to the Black family cabin.  
  
James contemplated running after him, but thought better of it, trying to suppress his normally pushy nature for the sake of friendship.  
  
He peered at his reflection in the mirror for a few minutes, studying it from all angles, looking quite perplexed and rightly so.  
  
He began to walk back to his family's cabin, still examining the mirror with an expression of extreme bewilderment.  
  
"What ruddy good's a mirror going to do?" he muttered to himself as he walked through the door.  
  
A few miles away, Sirius Black laid gingerly down onto his bed, careful not to put too much pressure on any bruises, and cursed his father for putting a Silencing Charm on him that afternoon.  
  
He sighed and gazed mutely into the twin version of the mirror he'd given James, hoping the other boy would figure out the secret.  
  
Chapter 7A  
  
Family Portrait  
  
June 19th  
  
... Shit.  
  
-JA  
  
June put her journal back in her bookbag and silently observed the scene in front of her.  
  
Petunia suddenly started laughing. "Way to get attention, Lily," she snickered.  
  
Magaran and Faith exchanged glances, and, sprouting identical evil grins, began chasing Petunia around the house, cat-calling "Petty! Peeeeeeetty!"  
  
Her parents, Merideth and David, did not seem to notice.  
  
Sighing, Amanda put a hand on the red-faced Lily's shoulder. "You take her, I'll take him," she said quietly, gesturing at the two stunned parents. She looked at June and Rose. "You two! Go make some tea!"  
  
The pair hurried off into the kitchen, and Lily, steering her mother ahead of her, followed them.  
  
"Mom," she said awkwardly as her mother took a shaky seat at the table.  
  
"I don't believe it," Merideth Evans said hoarsely. She turned her warm brown eyes on her daughter's vivid green ones. "You're joking."  
  
Lily shook her head.  
  
They both jumped slightly as Rose dropped a teacup. She blushed a violent shade of red, looking around for something to sweep it up with.  
  
"Magic ain't all bad," came a charming voice. They looked at the doorway where Faith and Magaran, seemingly tired of chasing Petunia, stood.  
  
The dreadlocked girl spoke again. "Observe," she said brightly, taking her wand out from her skirt's pocket and pointing it at the shattered tea cup on the floor. "Reparo!" she said brightly, grinning at the awed looks on Merideth and Lily's faces as it flew back together, landing with a soft "clunk" on the counter and looking good as new.  
  
The two redheads at the table were saved the necessity of having to think up a proper response as Petunia bowled past Merideth and Faith, shrieking loudly.  
  
"THEY'RE ALL - RUDDY - FREAKS!" she yelled as she ran out the back door and into the darkening dusk.  
  
Looking rather concerned, Merideth led the way into the livingroom where she, Lily, Faith, and Magaran observed Amanda calmly levitating the coffee table to demonstrate magic.  
  
Much to her chagrin, David Evans did not seem to be getting any comfort from the experience of having his coffee table float at eye level while he stood backed up against the wall on the couch's seat.  
  
Seeing the others come in, she gently put the table down, brow furrowed. "He doesn't seem very happy," she said sulkily, crossing her arms and thinking it rather unfair that no one was complimenting her on her excellent use of Wingardium Leviosa.  
  
Suddenly Rose and June appeared, bearing trays of tea and cookies.  
  
On June's tray was a large bottle of brandy, which she hurriedly handed over to Lily's father, who took it gratefully, having a large swig directly from the bottle.  
  
"Now," she said in her pleasantly unobtrusive manner. "Let's talk about this like nice, sensible people, shall we?"  
  
***  
  
Once things had calmed down, Lily's parents had read her acceptance letter and listened with rapt attention as Amanda and Magaran explained the basics of the Institute, and Petunia had been brought home, wrapped in a blanket, by some rather shocked-looking neighbours, Lily, Magaran, Rose, Faith, Amanda, and June sat around in Lily's room, chatting animatedly and keeping themselves quite amused.  
  
"So," said Amanda slyly, looking directly at Lily as she spoke. "What d'you all think of that Jack boy?"  
  
The others smirked, all watching Lily, who had turned a rather unflattering shade of red.  
  
"Er, well, he's very ... ummmm ..."  
  
The Lily Torture Hour was interrupted as the door opened.  
  
There stood Petunia, in her nightgown with a rather sour look on her face.  
  
"Mom said I had to apologise," she muttered, "so ... sorry."  
  
She turned, closing the door behind her and muttering, all too audibly, "freak."  
  
Lily blushed, but Faith merely heaved a large sigh and looked over to Magaran, who was already smiling devilishly.  
  
"Shall we, Mags?" she said boredly.  
  
The redhead's smile grew, and she appeared to be baring fangs more than anything else.  
  
"Why yes," she said in a frightfully casual manner as she stood up and walked over to the door. "I think we shall."  
  
And so, once again, Faith and Magaran chased Petunia around the house.  
  
R&R? *annoyingly cute look*  
  
Pooks and her many underpaid muses 


	10. The Beginning, part 1

Title: If It's The Last Thing I Do (Well, It's True That We Love Each Other ...)  
  
Chapter: 8/? ["The Beginning, part 1"]  
  
Author: Electric Zucchini  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era  
  
Email: his_stupid_girl@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter Summary: 'Surrounding these eyes was a face. Not an attractive face, and not an ugly one. The epitome of average. Surrounding this face was a mop of blonde hair and a rather chubby neck. Surrounding this ne- well, we could go on like this for ages, but instead let's try something like "There was an average-looking chubby little blonde boy staring at James and James was staring right back." Yes, that'll do.'  
  
Chapter Warnings: Meh. Who cares?  
  
Archiving: Ask first (already on ff.net and my LiveJournal [pookizegreat])  
  
Disclaimer: Any and all things and people you recognise in this fic belong to JK Rowling [author of the Harry Potter series] or some other person. I am only responsible for the original characters in this fic. I am making no profit from writing this fanfiction, I am only having fun.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Chapter Pairing(s): None, although you could most likely make lots of slashable moments in this between the Marauders, you sick sick people. ^~*  
  
Feedback: Yes please. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is welcome. FLAMES will be laughed at and used to light my mother's cancer sticks.  
  
A/N: NOTE: if there's a problem with continuity between this chapter and previous ones, that's because I'm in the process of revising them. *mutter* IITLTID has its own site (http://the_brat_fae.tripod.com/iitltid), but it's far from finished. Yay for taking a really long time to get chapters up. Pfft. I'm planning, bitches. Thank you to the following reviewers: Once again a note that most of these people did not in fact review IITLTID, but other stories of mine, I just choose to thank them here.  
  
pointyearedluv, aelfgifu, quendria, dementedsiren, finsaur_venusy, sparksandclocks, holly_san, jnhardyzmercy, _brightness_, asuka_unit02, kaufee_cake, toffeeokim, jiffy_spiffy, lilkougagurl, bamfchickie, ghostwalker, smsten, nuklear_firefly, clouds_up, LilyClairePotter, lafantome574, candymcfierson, meghanjinx, of_bad_faith, makya_sasami, _gutterbunny_, broken_trust, ficbymarks, leather_wings, carawj, molten_mercury, edgefire, babycakesin, Manny2003, Trinity Day, PuDdLe Of MuD, roz_morgan, orlandosonlyluv, hikari_cyhan, katho, anemone_frost, Sirius' sweetie, Sophocles, blackmagickbaby, honerlovesfrank, toasty_frog, _think_tink_ A Glass Of Water, meltedcrayon Also, I was in a rather silly mood while writing part of this, as is evident of the summary and the part surrounding it.  
  
CHAPTER 8  
  
The Beginning, part 1  
  
August 15th, 1971  
  
James glared at the mirror in his hand, thoroughly insenced at the fact that he still had no idea of its purpose, despite having studied it for hours. He shoved it deep into the pocket of his robes as his mother called him, and lifted up his trunk, his broom (which he'd been quite dismayed to learn he wasn't allowed to bring along with him for the first year) floating alongside him.  
  
He strode through the kitchen and out into the already slowly chilling August air, walking to the stationwagon his parents were loading their things into as Elias slept in the back seat.  
  
Most Wizarding families wouldn't even contemplate doing such a thing so deplorable as travelling in a Muggle car, enchanted or not, but James's mother despised the Knight Bus, and no one trusted Elias to fly.  
  
James glanced up as his father, finished ramming his own broom and care kit into the very back seat.  
  
Giving a small sigh, James swallowed his pride and walked up to his father, tugging lightly at his side.  
  
"Um ... Dad?"  
  
Jim looked down over his spectacles at his young son. "Yes?"  
  
"C'n I ask you a question?"  
  
"It's pronounced can, James. And I'm sure you're quite capable of doing so." And with that he turned away, walking briskly down towards the cabin to fetch his wife.  
  
James smacked his forehead, cursing inwardly. Damned grammar nazis ...  
  
He panted slightly as he caught Jim up at the door.  
  
"Dad, Dad ..."  
  
Jim looked down at the boy again trying not to laugh.  
  
"Dad, may I ask you a question?"  
  
Jim smiled, his eyes crinkling behind the golden frames. "Aye, son. Ask away."  
  
James fumbled in his robes' pocket, quickly pulling the mirror out and holding it out to his father.  
  
Jim grabbed the mirror, concern flooding his face. It was no cheap trinket, this. Round and highly polished, with gold edges set with jewels; Jim doubted his son knew the worth of it. Indeed, it was so richly decorated that it barely avoided tackiness.  
  
Jim's eyes returned to his son's, raising a severe eyebrow. "Where did you get this, son?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Sirius gave it to me," James replied. "But I dunno where he got it from," he said, pointing at the inricate "TP" engraved on the back of the mirror. "And I thought and thought but I can't figure out what on earth it's supposed to do!"  
  
Jim stared perplexedly at the mirror, just as stumped as his son, when suddenly a harried Irish voice came from behind them.  
  
"Would you two lugs move? We have to get going, you know!" Keelin Potter stood behind her husband, the diminuitive blonde glaring up at Jim with a deeply annoyed expression, her thin little arms wrapped tightly around a box full of spices.  
  
Catching sight of the mirror, Keelin gasped, quickly setting the box down and snatching the mirror from her husband, examining it thoroughly. After a minute, James, more impatient than he'd ever been in his short life, looked up at his mother and suddenly blurted, "Well? What is it?"  
  
"It's a mirror ..." Keelin said slowly. James opened his mouth to make a sarcastic retort, in a mood darker than a dragon's heart, but Jim silenced him with a look. No one in their family knew Wizarding history (and genealogy) better than Keelin.  
  
"It's a mirror," she began again, "crafted by Phineas Nigellus years and years ago. It has a dulpicate, as do all imitations of it made soon after, and with the simple request of who you want it to show, providing they are looking in the mirror at the same time, will open up a direct line of communication between the two mirror-holders. It, and the other duplicates of it, were used in the war against the Dark Wizard Grimmauld." She finally moved her eyes from the mirror to James. "Where did you get this, Jamie?" she asked quietly.   
  
"S-Sirius," he said, thoroughly shocked by all the information he'd just received.  
  
"Of course!" Keelin exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "Phineas Nigellus would have to be ... oh ... yes, I believe that would be Sirius's great-great-grandfather!" She handed the mirror back to James and once again lifted the box, carrying it to the car.  
  
James followed her dazedly, running his fingers over the gilded edges pf the mirror as he crawled into the back seat. Glancing at Elias and reassuring himself the man was asleep, James looked resolutely into the mirror and whispered "Show me Sirius Black."  
  
His reflection flickered for a second, and he blinked a few times as a new one appeared. It was of a boy with closed eyes and sleak black hair.  
  
It took James a second for him to collect his wits, but suddenly he hissed "Sirius!" at the reflection.  
  
The boy's eyes snapped open, revealing that same shocking shade of crystalline blue James remembered. The eyes widened, the short black eyelashes making an almost comical frame."James!" he exclaimed, the word starting loud and dying to a quiet tone. His face broke out into a smile. "Finally figured it out, did you?"  
  
James grinned sheepishly. "Me Mum did, actually."  
  
Sirius slapped his hand over his mouth and laughed into it, the muffled sound remarkably close to a bark, although much too high-pitched to belong to any dog which would create such a strong belly noise.  
  
Grinning broadly himself, James spoke again. "So, how've you been?"  
  
Sirius smirked. "I've been home," he said. "So take a gue-" the word died on his lips and his eyes darted up to something James couldn't see. His pallor took on a greenish tinge, accentuating the appearance of the many half-faded bruises on his face, and suddenly James saw a fist come out of nowhere, then total darkness.  
  
The reflection slowly faded back to showing James's face, and his own face went slightly green itself.  
  
He half-jumped as Keelin and Jim got into the front seat, and stuffed the mirror back to the bottom of his robes' pockets.  
  
Keelin turned about in her seat as she did up as she did up her seatbelt and Jim started up the car. "Are you goin' to be talkin' to your friend, now, Jamie?"  
  
James kept his eyes on his feet, feeling the painfully attentive stare of his mother on his down-turned face.  
  
"I ... I think I'll be waitin' 'till we get home, Mum."  
  
***  
  
August 29th, 1971  
  
The pre-autumn sun shone down on the heads of the crowd milling in Diagon Alley.  
  
Pushing their way through the masses were James and Keelin Potter, the willowy blonde keeping a rather frightening death grip on James's hand.  
  
"Bloody housewives," Keelin muttered heatedly, "always putting things off until the last moment ..."  
  
James blinked, vaguely contemplating pointing out that Keelin was a housewife who had put shopping for Hogwarts off until the last minute, but decided against it, realising he didn't want to die a virgin.  
  
Suddenly Keelin halted, staring ahead at a spot too high for James to see in the crowd.  
  
"Dammit, Jim," she whispered.  
  
She lifted James up and placed him in front of a broom supply shop where the latest Comet was on display. "Stay here," she muttered.  
  
James climbed up onto the ledge of the display window, grinning as he spotted his Mum storming over to his dad, who was chatting animatedly with a flirty redhead who James highly doubted had been legal for more than a year. He'd been told that Potter men had quite the weakness for redheads, but luckily so far he'd broken The Curse; James had always been a puller of brown pigtails. His great-Aunt Mabel said he was obviously a narcissist.  
  
He smirked as Jim caught sight of his enraged wife pushing her way towards him. No matter how many times it happened, his expression was always priceless.  
  
Suddenly he felt the tug of someone's eyes on him, and looked down to discover himself met with a pair of narrow, dark green eyes.  
  
Surrounding these eyes was a face. Not an attractive face, and not an ugly one. The epitome of average. Surrounding this face was a mop of blonde hair and a rather chubby neck. Surrounding this ne- well, we could go on like this for ages, but instead let's try something like "There was an average-looking chubby little blonde boy staring at James and James was staring right back." Yes, that'll do.  
  
James, starting to become uncomfortable with the gratituous staring scene, looked quite uncomfortable. "... Hi?" he said uncomfortably.  
  
The boy flushed faintly, and suddenly looked very interested with his shoes. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly. "I was wondering why you were on the window ledge."  
  
It was James's turn to flush. "Er, I was just watching me mum chew out me dad for flirting."  
  
The boy grinned hesitantly. "My Mum does that, too."  
  
James grinned as he jumped down, discovering with some surprise that even standing on the same level that he was almost a good six inches taller than the other boy.  
  
James stuck his hand out, grinning hesitantly yet again. "The name's James Potter."  
  
The boy smiled, shaking James's hand vigorously. "Mine's Peter. Peter Pettigrew."  
  
***  
  
A young boy stood in Flourish and Blotts, staring helplessly up at the top shelf, where 'The Beginner's Guide to Herbology' was located. The shelf was at least three times his height, but he supposed that wasn't saying much. He sighed, looking over to the opposite side of the store, where a clerk was discussing what books would best inform them on how to get rid of a pesky bunch of ashwinders.  
  
He could go ask for help, but ... he didn't want to bother anyone.  
  
Suddenly he spotted a boy near his age, and raised an eyebrow. Catching sight of him, the other boy did the same.  
  
He blinked as the other boy came right up to him. "D'you know where 'A Beginner's Guide to Herbology' is?" he asked.  
  
The first boy blinked again. "Up on the top shelf," he replied.  
  
The other boy looked up and nodded. "Jolly good, then. You need a copy, too?"  
  
The boy nodded.  
  
"Alright, then. I'll get them, I'm taller than you, anyways. You going to Hogwarts, too?" he asked, starting to climb up the book shelf.  
  
The first boy almost shouted out, but, deciding he probably shouldn't do anything that's get his first possible friend in 6 years in trouble, merely nodded. "Aye," he said. As the other boy started to climb down, two books in hand, the first boy decided it would be a good idea to attempt manners. "What's your name?" he asked?  
  
"Sirius Black," the other boy replied jovially as he jumped the last meter down, holding out the boy's copy of 'Beginner's Guide'. "And yours?"  
  
"Remus," the boy said, smiling broadly as he took his copy. "Remus Lupin."  
  
***  
  
Kelly Pettigrew smiled genially at Keelin Potter over her tea, trying to think of something to say. Their husbands were happily chatting about Quidditch, and their sons about - well - Quidditch. Unfortunately, Kelly herself couldn't think of something to say for the life of her.  
  
Kelly and Keelin were overall alike. They were both women of simple pleasures, both from farming communities, and had they been talking, they probably would have found various other similarities. Instead, they merely smiled at each other over tea. The problem was this: Kelly was a Muggle.  
  
So, while Kelly's childhood consisted of milking cows, driving in cars with boys, and pet dogs, while Keelin's consisted of batting at yard gnomes with a mop, riding on broomsticks with boys, and pet puffskeins.  
  
Needless to say, this could lead to quite the communication barrier.  
  
Suddenly Kelly spoke. "My husband likes brown eyes," she said, lowering her own green ones. Keeling blinked for a second, then smiled. "Red heads," she said simply.  
  
The two jumped a bit, Keelin spilling tea on her robes, as a tall boy jumped the railing of the patio they were on and stood up on the arm of James's chair, shouting a greeting.  
  
Immediately the two gave each other the kind of bear hug those odd little creatures as males are so well-known for, talking loudly and attracting the attention of basically everyone within hearing range.  
  
When finally they'd settled down (and James and Peter's fathers had gotten back to discussing the sad state of affairs concerning the Chudley Cannons), James leapt over his seat, dragging the other boy along with him to Keelin and Kelly, who still looked rather paralyzed.  
  
"Mum, you remember Sirius, right?"  
  
Keelin lowered her hand from the protective place it had been holding at her throat and nodded slowly. "Aye," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "I do."  
  
She cleared her throat and looked up at the brightly smiling Sirius. "And how've you been doin', lad?"  
  
Sirius grinned a bit more. "Oh, alright," he replied. "The family's been too concerned with shippin' me off to Hogwarts to bother getting mad at me, and my cousin's been over to visit, but that's alright because they tend to choose to ignore me, anyways."  
  
Keelin smiled vaguely. "That's good, dear. What are your cousin's names?"  
  
Sirius smirked. "Bellatrix - she's a mad 1st year, off her knocker already - Andromeda - 4th year, pretty decent, but doesn't much warrant a lowly 'leven-year=old like me worth talkin' to - and Narcussa ... her name says it all, really. Second year."  
  
James looked sideways at Sirius. "Are they hot, mate?"  
  
Sirius made a face as though he'd just ingested a handful of vomit-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "James, no," he hissed, while Keelin shot her son an extremely reproachful look.  
  
Suddenly Sirius blinked, as though a bag of flour had just fallen on his head. "Oh! Also ..." he strode off towards the edge of the patio, laughing and helping a rather timid-looking boy with semi-long light brown hair and eyes to match, both sporting slightly coppery tones. He was about the same height as James, but with rather more of a frail build, and he coughed slightly into his fist as Sirius brought him forward. "This is Remus Lupin," he said, quickly introducing the others. Remus waved a bit as James quickly collected Peter and introduced him as well.  
  
And so it was as the boys - along with Peter and James's parents - walked off to Ollivander's that the soon-to-be infamous Marauders were born.  
  
T.B.C 


End file.
